Taking Hills And Plains Along

By S Mangi Singh

Congress continues its rule in Imphal as the opposition fractures, capitulates

On the morning of March 6, just as the counting for the 10th state assembly elections began in Manipur, Gaikhangam, the president of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee, said on AIR Imphal that he was expecting an unprecedented victory for his party. Even he would not have presumed what the final picture would turn out to be in the evening — the Congress winning a clear two-thirds majority, with 42 seats. Before 2012, no party has won a majority in any of the previous nine state elections. In an assembly of 60 seats, the most a party achieved was the mid-mark of 30 — a feat which the Congress achieved on two occasions.

This success becomes all the more significant in view of the “ban” on the Congress — no one should contest in the party ticket or join its rallies or campaigns — announced by the Coordinating Committee (CoreCom) formed by six insurgent groups: the Kangleipak Communist Party, the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup, the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), the PREPAK (Pro), the United National Liberation Front and the United People’s Party of Kangleipak. The ban proved thoroughly ineffective in stemming the surge in favour of the Congress. This evokes a parallel from 2007 when the Congress had successfully withstood another major challenge — from the Manipur People’s Party, which seemed to embody a resurgent spirit of regionalism.

Many factors have contributed to the sweep. The Congress is the only party with a statewide base, enjoying support in both the hills and the plains. It has been the only party that could file nominations in most, if not all, of the 60 seats in all the assembly elections held so far. Besides the particular political tendency displayed by the people of the state to vote for the party that is in power at the Centre, Manipuris went with the Congress because of its promise of stability. Since 2002, the Congress has led two coalition ministries, each lasting a full term, contributing to the overwhelming perception that only it could provide a stable government.

This time, the Congress showed its winnability in the hills, from getting just five seats in 2007 it has won 14 of 20 seats — of these five are Naga-dominated constituencies, eight are Kuki-Chin-Mizo-dominated and one from the only three constituencies that saw a close fight between the Nagas and the Kuki-Chin-Mizo groups.

In the four valley districts, with 40 constituencies, the Congress won 28.

There was a complete capitulation of opposition parties — even the former opposition leader, NCP’s Radhabinod Koijam, has lost. The opposition in Manipur has always been a heterogeneous group lacking unity and unable to provide any policy alternative to the ruling party. This was all the more pronounced this time. Of all the opposition parties in the previous assembly, only the NCP has managed to win one seat this time. For the first time, the Manipur People’s Party has failed to win a seat in the assembly. However, the Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP), which was completely routed in 2007, has made a triumphant return, winning five seats. The Trinamool Congress too made a grand entry into the state assembly, winning seven. The elections also saw three women getting elected.

The success of the Congress is also a vote for the protection of the territorial integrity of the state. The party has always been vocal about its commitment to it. Meanwhile, the Naga People’s Front (NPF) won only four seats, speaking volumes about the people’s response to its demand for merging the Naga-inhabited areas of the state into Nagaland or a Greater Nagaland; or for making the Naga-inhabited areas a separate political unit. The NPF lost in eight of the 12 seats it contested, even though 11 of them are Naga-dominated constituencies, The four hill districts are considered to be land of the Nagas, but the NPF won only one each in Ukhrul and Chandel districts, and another two in Senapati.

The NPF drew a blank in Tamenglong district, which is predominantly inhabited by Zeliangrong Nagas, bringing to the fore the differences among the Nagas, especially between the Zeliangrong Nagas and other Naga tribes.

The writer is a professor at the department of political science, Manipur University

Campus Protects Aizawl's Ecology

Aizawl, Mar 7 : Aizawl city dwellers manage to breathe fresh air despite the rapid urbanization and large scale deforestation, thanks to a reserve forest maintained a city college.

The 138-acre verdant reserve forest maintained by Pachhunga University College surrounding the campus contributes a lot to the city's maintaining ecological balance amidst the rapid global warming which does not spare the naturally-air-conditioned Mizoram.

Environment and Forests Minister H Rohluna highly praised the college for maintain such a thick reserve forest in the congested Aizawl city which has become a concrete jungle. "Large scale deforestation has left adverse effects on our climatic conditions and soil.

We need to protect Mizoram from rapid depletion of forest," Rohluna said, while speaking at eological conservation awareness programme, jointly organised by the PUC and the state's environment and forests department at the college today.

The forests minister also emphasised the need to be cautious about forest fire, as a single fire incident can within minutes destroy forests that need many years to form. UD&PA minister Zodintluanga, who also attended the programme, lauded the college for maintaining the reserve forest which has five to six lakh grown-up trees.

"The college sets an example to the entire Mizoram in conservation of forests," he said. Dr H Lalruatsanga, assistant professor of botany department, highlighted the college's activities in wildlife and environment protection and sought for public cooperation.

He said the college's reserve forest produced a huge amount of oxygen for Aizawl. Different types of animals are living in the reserve forest. The ecological conservation awareness programme was attended by the college's stalwarts like MLA Dr R Lalthangliana, ex-Speaker Lalchamliana, former minister Dr Lalzama and former MLA Dr J V Hluna.

Seeking Refuge: The Chin People in Mizoram

Illegal Aliens or Refugees? 100,000 Burmese Chin Christians in India (Photo: The Christian Post) (l-r) Dan Kosten, chair of Refugee Council USA; Joel Charny, vice president for humanitarian policy and practice at InterAction; Matthew Wilch, U.S. human rights lawyer and lead writer of the report; and Jenny Yang, director of advocacy and policy for the Refugee and Immigration Program at World Relief, at a press conference for the release of the report "Seeking Refuge: The Chin People in Mizoram State"

Washington, D.C.  – Some 100,000 ethnic Chins from Burma have fled torture and religious persecution in their homeland to take refuge in Mizoram state in eastern India, where they make up an astounding 10 percent of the population – but on paper – they don't exist. This problem – the Chins' legal non-existence in Mizoram – brought together a panel of humanitarian experts on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about the plight of this highly overlooked ethnic group – 90 percent of which is Christian – at a media event for the release of the 134-page report, "Seeking Refuge: The Chin People in Mizoram State, India."

"Partially due to difficulty with access into Chin state in Burma and Mizoram in India, there has been much less focus on the Chin situation than it really warrants," said Joel Charny, vice president for humanitarian policy and practice at Interaction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based relief and development organizations.
"This report shines a badly need light on a painful, neglected situation."

The Chin people are from Chin State in western Burma. Since 1988, tens of thousands of Chins have fled to neighboring Mizoram to escape ethnic, political, and religious persecution under the notorious Burmese military regime. There are an estimated 100,000 Chins in Mizoram state. Until January 2011, foreigners were not allowed into the eastern Indian state.

A delegation, that included panel members, traveled to India from April 7 through May 2, 2011, to assess the situation of the Chin people in Mizoram. What they found was a little-reported, long-term, urban refugee problem that included the Chins in India being considered illegal aliens and therefore in constant danger of arrest, fines, and deportation – even though they could face torture and death if returned home.

Because the Chins in Mizoram are undocumented and not recognized as refugees, they cannot obtain legal work and mostly resort to manual labor, farm work, construction work, selling goods in markets, and maid service to earn a living. It is not unusual for them to be underpaid, but they cannot report it to local authorities out of fear of being arrested or deported.

Matthew Wilch, a U.S. human rights lawyer and the lead writer of the report, described the Chins' financial situation in Mizorum as "chronic economic instability." Eviction of Chin families from their rented home is very common.

It is especially hard for Chin children born in Mizoram because they are stateless and their parents often don't have enough money to enroll them in school.

Jenny Yang, director of advocacy and policy for the Refugee and Immigration program at World Relief and a member of the team that visited Mizoram last year, said, "[I]t (the 2011 trip to Mizoram) was also unique in that there was virtually no international presence, no non-government organization. And UNHCR didn't have a presence at all, which meant that the protection challenges and humanitarian challenges that the refugees face was that much more urgent because they have no international body providing protection for this group of people."

Yang recalled that during the trip to Mizoram, she met a woman who was crying while recalling her plight. The Chin woman shared to Yang that Burmese military officials had detained and tortured her 18-year-old brother out of suspicion that he was a pro-democracy activist. After two weeks of being tortured in jail, her brother died. His body was released to her parents and it was after this that the Burmese military realized that her brother was not a pro-democracy activist but only a student.

The woman said that her other brother was also tortured in jail, and his left hand was cut off. With only one hand left, her brother fled to Mizoram to escape being detained again. Back in Chin State, the woman was a teacher and had two children. But one day she reported to authorities that one of her 14-year-old students was raped by two Burmese soldiers. While at the market that week, the woman's friends informed her that Burmese authorities were at her home. Upon hearing that, she fled to Mizoram, where she lives with her handicapped brother and her parents.

"There is no assistance program or protection for them whatsoever in Mizoram," Yang stressed. "Even as these refugees are fleeing persecution in Burma, they flee to India where there is no protection for them at all, and the fear they have is perpetual – not just in Burma but in India as well.

"Without the legal status of a lot of these refugees, without some sort of documentation, what we found is that this lack of protection has affected literally every single aspect of their lives: their livelihood, their access to healthcare, their access to education, and literally every aspect of their lives. They live not only in fear, but on the margins of a society because they are not recognized as refugee in Mizoram state."

The panel recommendation includes that the central government of India maintain the lifting of the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) so that humanitarian organizations, governments and individuals can travel to Mizoram state to meet with those affected by the Chin refugee problem and find a solution.

It also recommends the Indian government and UNHCR establish and maintain refugee protection for Chins in partnership with the international community, and for the Indian government to provide Chins with legal status and access to legal and court protections so they will be freed from the threat of arrest and deportation.

Another recommendation is for the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, the Czech Republic and other countries and the European Union to partner with the central government of India and Mizoram to provide refugee protection and assistance to Chins.

India's Mizoram state is overwhelmingly Christian, with 95 percent of the 1 million population being followers of Jesus.

"I cannot overstate the importance of the Christian community and church in Mizoram state," noted Jenny Yang. "The influence of the church, whether it is the Presbyterian church, the Baptist church, or the Catholic church especially, is critical and they will continue to be critical in providing any kind of assistance to refugees in the future."

On the web:  chinseekingrefuge.com

When Does Northeast India Shine?

By Khushali P. Madhwani
A stark image of lush greenery, with a woman clad in a mekhla chaddar is typical of the Northeast India. Such are pictures of many enthusiastic photographers of the country, who are taking part in the Northeast Through My Eyes photo contest till March 20.

After a visit to one of the seven sister-states of India, these individuals are submitting a single image to be a part of this online photo contest. “This is a paradise unexplored. The pictures have to speak volumes of this region. Many entries we have received till now do just that,” says Jim Ankan Deka, the director of Eastern Fair Music Foundation.

One of the many fascinating images that Jim made a mention of was a black and white image of a native woman with her nose piercing. “There are not many tribes in the country where you find this tradition still existing. Things like the head gears are worn on an every day basis in these regions and here is where the beauty lies,” says Jim.

Many individuals who submitted photographs were in these regions on holiday. Aarti Gadeock, head of administration and marketing, says, “The moment I captured was amazing and pure. It was at a Buddhist monastery in Darjeeling. Since I chant Buddhism prayers, I felt a connection with this place.” Aarti’s husband edited the image to make it black and white and only the monk’s maroon robe is colour.

Most photographers admit that they did not plan the picture but that it happened by chance. Ritesh Kumar Maity, a lawyer says, “Our bus broke down at Gurudongmar Lake in Sikkim. It was three degrees celsius. Since I am from Kolkata, such a temperature was unreal for me. In this natural setting, I captured the raw scenic beauty. But the most thrilling experience was when an army truck was passing by; they gave us a ride till our hotel.”

The images are an epitome of the purity of this place. Bijit K. Dutta, an industrialist, says, “I wanted to capture the essence of Manjuli. Manjuli is the largest river island in the world. In my image, I got the beauty of the paddy field and hard working nature of the natives.” Just by looking at a photograph, a destination goes on your bucket list.

This often happens with Northeast India. Rob Horsefield, an occasional freelance travel photographer, part time traveller and full time NE India lover says, “I wanted to give the world an opportunity to see a culture that is, especially to Western eyes, both unusual and interesting.”

Third Term For Congress in Manipur

By Sobhapati Samom


Imphal, Mar 7 : The ruling Indian National Congress (INC) in Manipur scored a hattrick after the party got an absolute majority in the Assembly election winning 42 seats including 14 in the five hills districts in the House of 60.

Surprisingly, the Trinamool Congress did well winning seven seats, while the Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP) that could not win a single seat in the last polls, also performed well, bagging five seats.

But the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Manipur People’s Party, major constituents of the opposition Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) comprising 11 non-Congress parties, could not fare well this time. In the last polls, CPI and MPP had four and five seats respectively.

Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh retained his native Thoubal seat defeating BJP candidate Oinam Indira by 15,453 votes. His wife O Landhoni retained the Khangabok seat defeating L Jatra Singh of MPP by 9,871 votes.

Senior ministers of the Ibobi ministry Th Debendra, Phungzathang Tonsing, Y Irabot and N Biren retained their Jiribam, Churachandpur, Wangkhei and Heingang seats respectively. Other notable winners included Th Lokeshwar, Manga Vaiphei, Dr N Bijoy, Victor Keishing and K Gobindas Konthoujam.

Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaikhangam retained the Nungba seat defeating his nearest NPF rival G Gaingam by 2,330 votes.

The biggest upset was defeat of opposition firebrand O Joy Singh of Manipur People’s Party (MPP). Joy lost his pet Langthabal seat to Karam Shyam of Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) by 1,032 votes, while his party president Dr Nimai Chand Luwang lost to K Meghchandra of Congress by a margin of 2956 votes.

Three ruling Congress ministers Jayentakumar, DD Thaisii and Md Allaudin lost to their respective rivals - L Ibomcha of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Keishamthong, Dr Alexander Pao of Naga People’s Front (NPF) in Karong and Karam Thamarjit of Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP) in Keirao.

In Nambol and Kshetrigao constituencies, the Congress victory came at the expense of heavyweights. While N Loken beat former union sports minister Thounaojam Chaoba Singh of Manipur People’s Party (MPP) to take Nambol, Md Amin Shah upset Nationalist Congress Party legislator Th Nandakishor Singh by 2,882 votes to take Kshetrigao.

The Trinamool Congress fared well winning seven seats. The party’s lone legislator in the previous Assembly, K Sarat Singh retained the Konthoujam seat by defeating his nearest Congress rival S Ranjan Singh.

Watch Live Stream of Manipur Election Vote Counting 2012

For the first time in the Manipur’s Assembly history, the counting at 18 counting halls will be webcasted live on the internet at the website of Chief Electoral Officer www.ceomanipur.nic.in.

On the right hand side click on the Returning officers and district...

Results and trends can be accessed live by going to the Counting of Vote link given in the website. Live Streaming of Churachandpur Vote couting here:

rochurachandpur on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Counting of Votes in Manipur

Voters show their identity cards as they to cast votes at a polling station during sixth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in Agra.

New Delhi, Mar 6 : 

Counting of votes in the Assembly elections in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa, considered "mini general elections", will be taken up on Tuesday.

The counting will begin at 0800 hours and first results are expected in an hour or two and all the results by evening.
The results will decide the fate of candidates in a total of 690 assembly seats --- 403 in UP, 117 seats in Punjab, 70 in Uttarakhand, 60 in Manipur and 40 in Goa. The elections, which have taken place in the middle of the last Lok Sabha election in 2009 and the next in 2014 are being considered some sort of "semi final" for the UPA and NDA.
While the Congress facing one controversy after another is looking forward to salvage its image, the opposition combine treats it as an occasion to pitch for a larger claim in 2014.
Looking for some buffer amid pulls and pressures of a troubling ally Mamata Banerjee, Congress faces an uphill task in reviving its fortunes in Uttar Pradesh.
BJP's task is also daunting as it has to return to power in Uttarakhand, where corruption allegations against it appear to have tilted the balance in favour of Congress. NDA also has a tough task in retaining Punjab.
Rahul Gandhi had led the campaign in the Mayawati-ruled Uttar Pradesh from the front where Congress is contesting 357 seats in alliance with Ajit Singh's RLD in the 403-member Assembly.
The party had won only 22 seats in the 2007 assembly elections in the state but made a spectacular show in last Lok Sabha elections where it won 22 Parliamentary seats coming as a shock to Samajwadi Party, BSP and BJP.
The ruling BSP in UP has contested all 403 seats, SP 402, BJP 398 and RLD 46. Exit polls have predicted a hung assembly in the state with the SP showed as cornering the major chunk of seats.
In the last assembly election, the BSP had won 206 seats and got a majority on its own surprising political pundits. SP had got 97 seats, BJP 50 and RLD, which contested in alliance with BJP won 10 seats. Independents and others had got 17 seats.
The Congress, led by former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh is quite hopeful of wresting power from the BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal combine in Punjab amid indications that BJP's hold on urban areas had substantially gone down.
Congress is contesting all 117 seats here, while SAD 94 and BJP 23. In the last election SAD had won 50 seats, Congress 42, BJP 19 and independents 06.
BJP, which ruled Uttarakhand through a simple majority by winning 36 of 70 seats in last elections, faces a tough challenge this time.
It had to change its chief minister Ramesh Pokhariyal "Nishank" ahead of elections and replace him with BC Khanduri, who did not get sufficient time to salvage the dent.
BJP, Congress and BSP are contesting all the 70 seats here. Congress had won 20 seats in last elections and BSP 08. Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, which had won three seats in the last assembly election is contesting on 52 seats. Three seats had gone to independents in the last election.
Similarly in Manipur, Congress had got a simple majority in last assembly election winning 31 of the total 60 seats while Manipur People's Party had won five, NCP and CPI four each, National People's Party and Lalu Prasad's RJD three each. Independents had bagged a whopping 10 seats.
Congress chief minister Ibobi Singh, perhaps, faces the toughest election for his party this time but Congress is hopeful of a win in absence of a united Opposition. Exit polls suggest Congress is retaining the state.
Goa in which Congress has its government headed by Digambar Kamat is a state where post poll formulations matter as much as the poll itself.
Congress looks poised for a pitched battle with BJP. Both the Congress and the BJP have entered into alliances ---Congress with the NCP and BJP with the MGP.
Illegal mining an issue but locally it did not become a poll issue as the syndrome allegedly afflicts both parties.
Congress had won 16 seats, BJP 14, NCP 03, and MGP, SGF and UGDP and independents 02 each. This time also it is expected to be a photo finish between the two alliances.

Mizoram Plans Tough Anti-tobacco Laws

Aizawl, Mar 5 : The Mizoram government has decided to enact tough laws to curb the use of tobacco products and drug abuse blamed for cancer and heart ailments, an official said here Sunday.”Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla held a meeting here last week with ministers and officials and decided to enforce inflexible laws to check drug abuse and tobacco related menaces,” a health department official told reporters.

“It was decided that the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances act and the Assam Drug Control Act (adopted by Mizoram) would be enforced with state specific amendments to suit the prevailing problem,” the official stated.

The proposed laws would be tough and with sufficient penalty and imprisonment for the guilty, he said

According to a study by social group Mizoram Population Base Cancer Registry, cancer claims lives of 550-600 people on an average annually in Mizoram, whose total population is a little over one million.

As per the state government records, the mountainous northeastern state, bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh, had topped the country eight years ago in tobacco consumption.

“Smoking has already been banned in the premises of government offices, educational institutions, health centres and crowded places across Mizoram,” an official release quoted the chief minister as saying in the meeting.

Social activist and chief minister’s wife, Lal Riliani said that more than 50 percent of cancer cases among Mizos were caused by tobacco.